Don't Let Go
by Hematite Bomb
Summary: The war is over, and Draco wants to redeem himself. Could the only one to really accept him as a good person be Hermione? One-shot based in Hermione and Draco's return to Hogwarts for 8th year.


_Song-fic to Don't Let Go by Bryan Adams. This is **incredibly **rushed, so it's not my best work. However, I like the idea of it. _

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and the plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Draco was sitting in the library pretending to read a book on advanced curses and how to prevent against them. The book itself held no interest for him, it wasn't the reason he was sitting here. The reason was that this was the table Hermione Granger always sat at. A table with two seats placed in between two stacks of books that reached almost to the ceiling, and a window at the end of a long and dim lit row. Draco had made a special effort to sit here today. He and Hermione had become civil to each other after the Great War. Hermione was too nice to judge someone for their past, even if she believed that someone previously wanted her dead. Besides, Harry and Ron weren't here this year, she needed all the friends she could get. And Draco? Well, in all honesty he had fallen in love with the Gryffindor girl. He didn't quite know how, or even when, all he knew was that he loved her. That was all there was to it. He turned around as he heard footsteps approach him from behind.

"Mal-…. Draco? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked when she noticed the blonde boy sitting in the seat next to her usual one.

"Waiting for you," he mumbled, setting down the book and watching as Hermione sat in the seat next to him. "I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

_I can't believe this moment's come  
It's so incredible that we're alone  
There's so much to be said and done  
It's impossible not to be overcome_

"Anything, I guess. Not a lot of people like me around here, in case you haven't noticed. You're about the only one that can stand to look at me. No one truly believes that I've changed, except you. I never thought I'd live to see the day where I would class you – a Muggleborn – as my only friend, but hey, that day has come. Also, you're too nice to say this but I know you don't even class me as one of your friends, just as someone who has been responsible for many deaths and I've just done so many horrific things. I still have nightmares, you know. About that day Dumbledore died. I didn't kill him, thankfully, but his eyes as Snape aimed his wand. They were so haunted. It was as if they were begging him to do it, as if he didn't care how he died as long as I didn't have to kill him. Because as much as he didn't trust me, as much as I was probably one of the worst students he had to watch grow since Voldemort himself, he didn't want me to have this burden on my back." Draco looked up at Hermione. "It feels so good to finally say this to someone."

"Draco… I believe you are a good person. Really, I do. You're just a good person who's had one too many bad influences around you at too young an age. Since the day you were born it's been inevitable that you would grow up to regret most of the things you've done in your life. Why is that? Because you're like- " Hermione paused, drumming her fingers on the desk and biting her lip as she thought before continuing "like the Sirius of your family. Do you know about Sirius? He came from a pureblood all-Slytherin family. His family and your family are joined, and you're like your family's Sirius. A good person brought up by bad people. The only difference between Sirius and yourself is that Sirius overcame it when he was young, you've just taken a little longer. And there's nothing wrong with that. Honestly Draco, I never thought I'd say this but I look up to you. I'm proud of you. There aren't many people who could be in your situation and come out as good a person as you are now. You're completely different from the ferret you used to be. I feel like I'm finally meeting the real you." Hermione smiled at this, and to his surprise, Draco smiled too.

"I only wish I could be as brave and as whole-heartedly good as you." Draco whispered under his breath, looking out the window as the autumn sun began to set.

"It's not all that hard, Draco. It really isn't." Hermione replied, quietly.

_Will you forgive me if I feel this way?  
'Cause we've just met – tell me that's ok  
So take this feeling and make it grow  
Never let it – never let it go  
_

Later on that night, before dinner, Hermione sat on her four poster bed across from Ginny. There were only two of them in this room, and Hermione quite liked it like that. Ginny was pleating her hair and humming to herself, staring at the impending darkness out the window. Hermione was replying to a letter Ron had sent her. After the war was over, Hermione had asked Ron if there was any chance they could just remain friends – she supposed their relationship wasn't as great as she thought it would be and preferred it when they were just best friends. To her surprise and great relief, Ron had the same feeling. Something about Lavender's death had changed his mind. Hermione found she wasn't jealous at all. Their short-lived relationship had been nothing more than the two of them thinking they were soon to die. Hermione signed the letter neatly and handed it to Errol, who was patiently waiting for the reply. He chirped cheerfully and flew off, leaving Hermione amused at the poor bird's enthusiasm.

"Ginny?" she asked a few seconds later.

"Mmm?" came the reply.

"Draco was talking to me today."

"Was he? That's nice." Ginny responded, obviously confused as to why Hermione was telling her this. A conversation could mean anything.

"About the war." Hermione muttered. Ginny looked up, interest darting across her face. "He thinks everyone hates him. He really isn't a bad person, you know. I was just wondering…" Ginny nodded, signalling for Hermione to continue. "At dinner tonight I was going to sit with him – he doesn't have any friends here, you see – and I was wondering if you'd join us. I don't want him to feel like he's driving my friends away because that will just make him worse and-"

"Hermione, calm down. I don't like him and I don't trust him, but I can pretend to." Ginny's eyes glinted mischievously and Hermione gave a small but sad smile.

"He's a good person, you know." Ginny hesitated.

"I think he'd like to be. But he doesn't exactly know how." she reiterated.

"He's trying. He's always nice to me." Hermione gave a small smile again. "Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"I think I love him." Hermione peered up at Ginny through her eyelashes, almost afraid of the reaction. A few moments passed.

"I think you're right." came the reply.

_(Don't let go of the thing you believe in)  
You give me something that I can believe in  
(Don't let go of this moment in time)  
Go of this moment in time  
(Don't let go of the things that you're feeling)  
I can't explain the things that I'm feeling  
(Don't let go)  
No, I won't let go_

A few weeks later, Hermione and Draco were standing next to each other, looking out at the first snow of the winter as it began to fall on the cold ground. The view from the repaired astronomy tower was phenomenal. Draco had brought Hermione here, telling her how he used to come up here to think sometimes, when he was in sixth year. They had been standing in silence for quite some time when Hermione began to shiver. To her immense surprise, Draco wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"Just thought I'd keep you warm." he whispered.

"Thank you," Hermione replied. "see? You are a nice person." The two laughed good naturedly at this. Despite the laughing, Hermione knew that Draco was thrilled with this statement.

"Hermione." Draco said, seriousness creeping into his voice.

"Draco." Hermione mocked playfully. Draco turned Hermione to face him, staring into her eyes.

"Hermione." he repeated. "I want to apologise for all those times when we were younger that I made fun of you. When I made fun of your hair, and your teeth, and anything else I made fun of that I can't remember. Because I do, and I think I always have, loved those things about you. They're things that would look, to be honest, average. On other people. But on you they look amazing. It's because of the way you are, the kind of person you are, you could look like Neville in first year and you'd still be beautiful because you're you! You're Hermione. I'm not sure if everyone thinks that about you, or if it's just me. If it's maybe just because… I love you." Hermione was speechless as she stared at Draco.

"I love you, too," she managed to say, before pulling him into a tight hug. The Slytherin boy and the Gryffindor girl held each other close up there, that day of the first snow, up on the astronomy tower that they'd helped to rebuild earlier in the year, and they cried together. Tears of pent up anguish mixed with tears of joy. They had found what they had needed all along. Each other.

_Now would you mind if I bared my soul?  
If I came right out and said you're beautiful?  
'Cause there's something here I can't explain  
I feel like I'm diving into driving rain  
You got my senses running wild  
I can't resist your sweet, sweet smile  
So take this feeling and make it grow  
Never let it – never let it go_

'**Dear Harry and Ron,' **Hermione scribbled the next day, sitting at that table in the library with Draco next to her, a spare seat pulled up on the other side for Ginny. **'I have some… news. I'm not sure how you'll take it but I can assure you that I have Ginny's permission.' **She joked, glancing up at the bemused expression on Ginny's face as she read the letter over her friends shoulder. **'For the past few months, I've been civil towards someone that we used to consider an enemy. That person would be Draco. We began talking to each other in our spare time in the library and I learned that he's not a bad person, he's just made a lot of bad decisions, mostly superseded by his father. He didn't want to be on Voldemort's side. He didn't want to be a death eater. He didn't want to fight against us, rather he was too afraid to stand up against his father and Voldemort alone. He needed saving, and that saving came at the end of the war. I'm sure you know that his father is in Azkaban, and Draco is glad to see the back of him, in all honesty. It is with this knowledge that I became good friends with him. I later realised that I love him. Believe it or not, I, Hermione Granger, am the official girlfriend of Draco Malfoy. Who would have thought? I hope you aren't too mad at me, and that you'll accept that he is a changed person and never was the person that we went to school with when we were younger. Also, he says hello. And so does Ginny. Yours sincerely, Hermione.' **Hermione took a deep breath as she folded up the letter and stood up. Draco and Ginny joined her on her walk to the owlery, none of them talking the whole way there.

Once the letter was on its way to the unsuspecting boys, Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione. "I love you Hermione Granger."

"I love you too, Draco Malfoy." Hermione replied.

"I'm still here." Ginny grumbled, and the three of them laughed.

_I've been waiting all my life  
To make this moment feel so right  
The feel of you just fills the night  
So come on – just hold on tight_

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_Hope you enjoyed it! Please review, constructive criticism very much appreciated :) _


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